We threw one final Sports Business Leaders banger last week to close the year! As I look back on 2024, one of the things I’m most grateful for is this roaring community that Justin Titchenell and I started in June.
What began as a few virtual meetups, then a low profile first in-person meetup with three attendees (Sal Filardi, Billy Annesley, Michael Chauner ❤️), has evolved into an amazing tribe of sports investors, startup founders, and organizational leaders in numerous sports verticals. The group also includes early adopting service providers who are already doing business in sports, or see the future, and are paying attention to these insane capital flows into this market. One of the reasons why the meetups are nuts is that the sports business economy is absolutely humming!
"The global youth sports industry today is a $30B market and expected to grow to $80B by 2030." Andrew Petcash Profluence+ Community. Local thought leaders in youth sports include Darnell Davis from Nike, Zoya Lehrer, Dontae Privette, Steven G., Michael Warech, Ph.D., Michael Hutner, Raymond Alvarez, David Lewanda, Matt Wray, Mark Dvoroznak, & Tim Murphy.
The total (NIL) market is projected to reach $1.67B in 2024-25, which is up from $917M in 2021-22 when college NIL was introduced. Local thought leaders include Jack Adler, Jake Kovalcik, & Tanner Maddocks.
The US sports betting industry is in its 7th year of regulated operations outside of Nevada. Operators have so far combined to generate $35B of lifetime gross revenue from more than $425B in total handle. Local experts include James Santore, Matt Hockenjos, Evan Davis, Sahil Patel, Katie Kohler, Tony Trzeciak, & Mike D'Addario.
Attention on women in sports is heating up. The 2024 NCAA women's basketball championship game drew 18.7M viewers on average, the most ever for a women's basketball game. This was the first time a women's basketball game outdrew the men's final, which averaged 14.8M viewers. Local community champions include Stephanie D'Angelo, Amaya Howard, MPA, & Crystalrae States.
Professional sports have become very serious business and returns on team investments can rival or exceed the returns from traditional asset classes. The recently developed Ross-Arctos Sports Franchise Index (RAFSI) measures the returns of team investments in the four major leagues in North America (MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL). The RAFSI shows a 13.1% return on investment.
Our meetups are getting too many people to shoutout in just one post, so expect more highlights of other SBL members who are helping to lead this charge in the explosive sports industry.
Thank you to everyone who came out to another event, our 10+ Profluence local chapter champions (thanks for connecting us Scott Garber!!!), and those who have been a part of this movement in Philadelphia.
Don’t miss our next SBL event on January 8 at Yards Brewing Co. (500 Spring Garden) at 6 p.m. ET!! Join us, no tickets - bring your friends! 🤣 🚀